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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

On
August 4th, 2005, my beautiful daughter Lily was born, and things could not
have been better. My pregnancy was relatively uneventful besides an emergency
C-section for delivery, and then all our friends and family surrounded us. With
my husband by my side, I greeted the members of our “village,” and I had no
idea what was to come.

I went back
to work soon after Lily was born, but something didn’t feel quite right. I was
breathless, and on top of that, I was tired all the time. I am an energetic
person, and suddenly, I had no energy. It could have been the stress of having
a newborn around, but I knew it was something else. I consulted a doctor, and
then we were shocked with the results.

I will
always remember November 21, 2005 as the day that I was diagnosed with malignant
pleural mesothelioma. This malignant cancer
was caused by childhood exposure to asbestos, and all of my symptoms lined up.
This cancer attacks the lungs, which accounted for my breathlessness.

When I got
the diagnosis, I was shocked, but then when I looked into the faces of my
husband and my new daughter, my course was clear. Without mesothelioma treatment, I only had 15 months to live. Because
mesothelioma is so aggressive, we opted for the most drastic measures possible.
Leaving Lily with my parents, my husband and I flew to Boston. On February 2nd of the following
year, I had a procedure known as a extra pleural pneumonectomy. My lung was
removed and after 18 days in the hospital and 2 months of recovery, I started
chemotherapy and radiation.

This would
not have been possible at all if my parents hadn’t stepped in. They were with
us in spirit, and they took Lily and began to raise her in our place. Because
they worked full time, their church group ended up taking over some of Lily’s
care, and even where they weren’t taking of Lily, this vibrant community
continued to chip in, helping my parents with chores, food and support. This
outpouring of love surprised and humbled me. While some people I thought I
could rely on were nowhere to be found, other people I never would have
expected to help showed up and asked to be useful!

I won’t say
that there were never dark days. I was missing out on a part of my daughter’s
life that I would never get back, and though my parents sent emailed pictures
and the nurses adored seeing my new baby, some days I just had to hold back
torrents of tears. I was fighting for my life and those pictures told me that I
was right to do it!

Life isn’t
easy, but it is so rich. I have embraced my life, and though my cancer
experience was one of the darkest times in my life, I learned so much. I
learned about myself and about the community that surrounded me, always willing
to come through with love and support.